Bottles and closure caps for same



J. HOHL ET AL 2,953,271

BOTTLES AND CLOSURE CAPS FOR SAME Filed Aug. 18, 1958 INVENTORS (To HNHOI-IL BY GEORGE \LNvmoRn ATTOR Y5 United States Patent 2,953,271BOTTLES AND CLOSURE CAPS FOR SAME John Hohl and George V. Mumford,Toledo, Ohio, assignors to Owens-Illinois Glass Company, a corporationof Ohio Filed Aug. 18,1958, Ser. No. 755,535

Claims. (Cl. 215-38) Our invention relates to bottles and closure capsfor same.

It is well known that in recent years ready access to bottles of aspirintablets and many other medicines and the exceptional ease of closure capremoval have resulted both in serious illnesses and deaths among smallchildren and others.

An object of our invention is the provision of novel, simple and mosteffective means by which removal of such closure c-aps becomes quitedifficult, if not impossible, for small children but will not presenttoo great a problem for adults.

A further object of our invention is the provision of a bottle andclosure cap combination in which removal of the cap requires theexercise of substantially greater strength than that possessed by theaverage small child and the application of upward pressure to theattaching skirt of the cap in a preselected relatively inconspicuouszone of quite small or restricted dimensions.

Other objects will be in part apparent and in part pointed outhereinafter.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a fragmentary side elevational view of a bottle and closurecap incorporating our invention, parts being broken away and shown insection to reveal the neck and cap structure and relationship.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view.

Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view taken substantially along the plane line3-3 of Fig. 1.

In the illustrated embodiment of our invention, the bottle is providedwith a diametrically reduced neck 11 which extends upwardly from thebody 12 and defines the usual mouth 13. Preferably a substantial upperportion of the neck diminishes in diameter in a direction axiallyoutward or upward from the body, thereby providing a tapered guidingsurface facilitating application of a closure cap C as will be apparent.At the base of the tapered portion of the neck, there is an annulargroove or channel 14, the upper wall of which provides an abutment 15,extending circumferentially of the neck and facing generally downwardly.Below this abutment 15 is an external circumferentially extending radialhead 16 which is interrupted to provide a transverse opening 17, ornotch. This notch extends entirely across the bead and is of rathersmall dimensions circumferentially so as to be relatively inconspicuous.There may also be a second identical notch 17 diametrically opposite thefirst notch 17.

The closure cap C, preferably, though not necessarily, is formed ofpolyethylene or some similar thermoplastic material and includes a topportion, or panel 18 and a depending annular attaching skirt 19. Thelower margin of this skirt 19 may be thickened radially by means of anexternal rib 20. Internally at this point the skirt is formed with anannular abutment 21, or bead, designed for releasable holding engagementwith the abutment 15 on the neck of the bottle. It is of utmostimportance that the skirt terminate quite close to the radial rib 16 andadditionally be of no greater external diameter than said bead in orderto prevent easy removal by resorting to conventional procedure. With theclosure cap skirt so related to the bead 16 and the notch, or notches,so very inconspicuous, because of their relatively small dimensions,there is little likelihood of a small child either discovering how theseclosure caps can or are intended to be removed, or being able to elfectremoval, in any event. First, the notch must be located and its functiondetermined and the individual must also have suflicient finger strengthto enable him to raise the closure cap about as shown in dotted lines inFig. 1. Such operation, with only a area of skirt margin available forfinger engagement is for all practical purposes impossible by smallchildren.

Modifications may be resorted to within the spirit and scope of theappended claims.

We claim:

1. In combination a bottle having a mouth-defining neck risingtherefrom, said neck formed with an annular downwardly facing closurecap retaining abutment spaced from the mouth end, a circumferentiallyextending radial bead externally of the neck immediately below saidabutment and of greater radial extent than the latter, said bead beinginterrupted to provide a transverse notch of radial extent substantiallyequal to the radial dimension of the bead, a resilient slip-type closurecap telescoped over the neck and including a top portion, a dependingattaching skirt and a radially inwardly directed projection formed atthe lower margin of the skirt for holding engagement with said abutmentand projecting into the space between the latter and the bead, the lowermargin of the skirt spanning the notch in said head and being of nogreater diameter externally than the external diameter of said bead.

2. The combination defined in claim 1, the projection at the lowermargin of the skirt being formed by radially thickening the lower marginof the attaching skirt to provide an internal bead for holdingengagement with said abutment and an external rib radially outward ofsaid bead to facilitate manual removal of the closure cap.

3. The combination defined in claim 1, the neck progressivelydiminishing in external diameter upwardly away from said abutmentwhereby to provide a tapered guiding surface facilitating closure capapplication.

4. The combination defined in claim 1, the abutment on the neck being acontinuous downwardly facing shoulder and the projection at the lowermargin of the skirt being an annular internal bead formed with an uppersurface engageable with the abutment.

5. The combination defined in claim 1, the circumferential extent of thenotch being only sufiicient to perrnit finger engagement with the lowermargin of the skirt.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,930,162 Eckard Oct. 10. 1933 FOREIGN PATENTS 757,792 Great BritainSept. 26, 1956 757,793 Great Britain Sept. 26, 1956 1,020,206 FranceNov. 12, 1952 1,164,764 France May 19, 1958

